Self-improvement thread! (pls no negativity or politics)

[pink grapefruit]

Originally Posted by unsunghero [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I had posted this vid before, but this guy Pavel is brilliant when it comes to giving a good overview on endurance building. He does training for navy seals, special forces, and elite competitive endurance athletes in the past. If you just watch a few minutes, it becomes quite clear that he really knows his stuff

Oh, neat. Maybe the more I get into cardio the more I'll care about the ins and outs, but for now my plan is just gonna be 20 mins LISS most days, and once that's easy maybe Apple Fitness+ spin class with ipad on stationary. I watched the first 5 minutes and so far it's just basic stuff. The "talk test" is good gauge of like RPE 6.

Originally Posted by unsunghero [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

When it comes to improving squat/deadlift/bench, the big 3, I really like this smaller channel. This elite powerlifting athlete is very soft-spoken and pleasant to listen to, very knowledgeable, and he does videos where he critiques viewers form on lifts they submit. I actually found that these critiques are more helpful than just being shown the powerlifter’s personal way of doing it, because everyone has a different body type and what works for a powerlifter may not work for everyone

https://m.youtube.com/c/calgarybarbell/featured

uh huh...

I prefer the Barbell Medicine guys. Think they may have had the Calgary guy on their podcast though idk.

Originally Posted by unsunghero [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

It sounds like I’m speaking to another fellow what we call “hybrid” athlete, meaning someone that wants to dabble in both cardio and lifting, and be as good as possible in both. This is me as well. Unfortunately, these are somewhat mutually exclusive in the fact that upper body muscle is often “dead weight” for endurance sports like distance running. But these are not mutually exclusive to the extent that many in the fitness community claim. A lot of the fitness community act like doing cardio and following a clean eating plan will result in “LOSING YOUR GAINS” due to burning muscle. Based on my experience, this is largely overblown. Just stick to shorter distances like I do, such as 5k’s or shorter runs, shorter cycling if you want to cycle etc. It’s really only long distance half or full marathons that will really fully deplete the body’s glycogen stores to the point where it might need to start cannabalizing muscle. But make sure you are taking in enough calories and don’t be scared of complex carbs such as whole wheat bread, oatmeal, etc. Carbs are only unhealthy for sedentary people who are not burning them, but that are very important as an energy source for active people (more: I am not a dietician and there are effective diets such as Keto that may be completely different)

I'm primarily a barbell athlete and likely always will be. Cardio endurance is something I've been meaning to get into for general health, and my best friend is a cardio endurance athlete. She's invited me to go on bike rides and when I ride my bike I feel like I'm dying, so I know I need to get better at it if I plan to hang w her.

Originally Posted by unsunghero [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Pain is the body’s way of signaling there is an issue there. Respect it, don’t punish it!

Also, losing grip strength can be an indication you are training too hard. Little known fact in the fitness community. So pay attention to any sudden drops in grip strength to where you feel you can’t hang onto a bar as easily. A lot of people will claim overtraining is a myth, but it’s not, especially for someone trying to go really hard when starting out

You're doing a whole lot of mansplaining here and it's not really necessary. I know what I'm doing.

Rest is not recommended, and pain symptoms are part of the process.

I've decreased the training volume directed at the affected area, and lowered the load intensity of my bench press. The way I talk about my recovery works for me, and you don't need to worry about it.

Thanks for your enthusiasm, though.